Fresh faced oligarch, we have grown worlds apart
My arkhipov calm will serve me in due time
Turbulence shakes the teeth from the chaos that you speak
With every barb that you threw, I saw you list to the side
And I won't sink with you, I have so much more to do
Promises, the lost cause, but the bones will heal in time
My arkhipov calm will serve me in time

What have the artists said about the song?

In an interview with Pitchfork, vocalist Jacob Bannon broke down the meaning of each song:

[Pitchfork]: Vasili Arkhipov is a Russian naval officer credited with stopping the Cuban Missile Crisis from escalating in 1962 by talking down a more eager superior from firing nuclear torpedos. How did you find out about him?

[Jacob Bannon]: I’m not a bookworm but I read all the time. I fall down wormholes of articles. I’m always fascinated by wars and world history and the complexities of all those things. Aren’t we all? Just how broken the world has always been. One of the things that blows my mind when it comes to people who are in power and doing these incredibly insane, historic things that can change the world in a heartbeat is that they’re just people. They’re just like you and I. People aren’t inherently good or bad, they’re just human beings.

Arkhipov’s story really affected me and showed how somebody calm of character could change the world. There’s been lots of instances in my life where I’ve felt like I was being tested by whatever situation I was in. It could be something as simple as losing your cool in public over something, and there’s a resilience that you have to find—a, dare I say, maturity that you have to hold onto to navigate those waters. When I was a kid, if something affected me I would have a much more reactionary response. I wasn’t a particularly violent guy, but you would have that explosion. I’ve been working really hard over the last decade or more to be super self-aware of what that kind of energy does to the world and to the people around you."